Among cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon or rectum) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Every year, about 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and more than 50,000 people die from it. But this disease is highly preventable, by getting screened beginning at age 50.

What You Can Do

If you’re aged 50 to 75, get screened for colorectal cancer regularly. Screening tests help prevent colorectal cancer by finding precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) so they can be removed. Screening also finds this cancer early, when treatment can be most effective.

Be physically active.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Don’t drink too much alcohol.

Don’t smoke.

Fast Facts

Risk increases with age. More than 90% of colorectal cancers occur in people aged 50 and older.

Precancerous polyps and colorectal cancer don’t always cause symptoms, especially at first. You could have polyps or colorectal cancer and not know it. That is why having a screening test is so important. If you have symptoms, they may include—

Blood in or on the stool (bowel movement).

Stomach pain, aches, or cramps that do not go away.

Losing weight and you don’t know why.

These symptoms may be caused by something other than cancer. If you have any of them, see your doctor.

Some people are at a higher risk than others for developing colorectal cancer. If you think you may be at high risk, talk to your doctor about when and how often to get tested.

There are several screening test options. Talk with your doctor about which is right for you.

Colonoscopy (every 10 years).

High-sensitivity fecal occult blood test (FOBT), stool test, or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) (every year).

Sigmoidoscopy (every 5 years, with FOBT every three years).

Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign

CDC’s Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign offers resources for patients and health professionals, including print materials (fact sheets, brochures, and posters) and television and radio public service announcements.

Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep is just one of the many celebrities who have joined Screen for Life, appearing in public service announcements to urge men and women to get screened beginning at age 50.

National Healthcare Decision Day is April 16th! In honor of this day, Agape Hospice and Agape Senior  are sponsoring FREE Five Wishes workshops! In Mt. Pleasant, SC, residents can stop by Mt. Pleasant Manor anytime from 10am to 1pm to get their free Five Wishes booklet and instructions how to complete it. Once completed and notarized, the information in the book lets loved one know your wishes as you approach the end of life. Join us tomorrow for this free event!

Agape Hospice of the Lowcountry serves Charelston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. To schedule a Five Wishes event, please contact the office at 843-553-7122.

Indian Land Primary Care - 55+ Weight Loss Specialist

Seniors may find it tough to lose weight and easier to gain because they burn fewer calories the young.

It's time for some straight talk: You weigh more than you did ten years ago, or even five years ago. The extra pounds didn't arrive all at once but accumulated gradually before you even realized they were climbing on board. Now you're looking at some serious extra poundage. But that's to be expected as you get older, right? Wrong.

Putting on excess weight is very common for a number of reasons that we'll explain. But it's not an inevitable part of the aging process, and it could put your health at risk. If you understand why you tend to gain weight more easily as you get older, you can do something about it.

You can blame a lot of your weight gain on your metabolism. Beginning as early as your mid-twenties, body fat begins to increase while muscle mass decreases. And less muscle mass translates into a slower metabolic rate.

Muscle mass decreases from about 45 percent of your total body weight in your youth to about 27 percent by the time you reach age 70. And the drop in hormones that accompanies menopause also precipitates a decrease in muscle mass, triggering even more weight gain for women. Your body fat, meanwhile, can double, even if your weight remains the same.

The bottom line is that you burn fewer calories in your 50s, 60s, or 70s doing the same activities, and the same number of them, that you did in your 20s, 30s, or 40s. The key to preventing weight gain is to compensate by adjusting your food intake, exercising, and generally becoming more physically active.

Now that you have made the decision to lose weight, it's time to figure how much weight you need to lose. 

Get involved and work towards achieving your goals in fitness and nutrition with your family here at Agape Senior!

CALL SCOTT TODAY ! 

        803-727-3946

Agape Health and Wellness

Address: 6251 Carolina Commons

Indian Land ,SC 

E-mail: sthompson@agapesenior.com

What better time for Agape Senior Primary Care (ASPC) to hold their Open House than during Somerby's 5th Anniversary celebration! ASPC is located within Somerby Independent Living and is now open to the public! Wendy, Sharen, Dr. Murk, Stephanie and Kitty (pictured with band) are all ready to help seniors with their health care needs!

Our Open House was held during a two night celebration of Somerby's 5th Anniversary. Included in the festivities were a band, door prizes, delicious food and lots of fun giveaways. We are so thankful for Somerby and its wonderful staff who have teamed up with ASPC and Agape Hospice to care for seniors throughout the Charleston area.

For more information about Agape Hospice, please call 843-553-7122. If you are interested in making an appointment with Dr. Stephen Murk, please call 843-553-3509.

The Agape Hospice office in Orangeburg teamed up with the local Family Health Center in Denmark, SC to celebrate Men's Health Month.  The week of June 17th the Family Health centers of Orangeburg County celebrated men's Health month at each location. During the week Gidget Vickers and Jackie Mack of Orangeburg's office visited the Denmark location to share in health news for our male population including a recent article on Prostate Cancer.

Thank you to the Family Health Center of Orangeburg for setting up this opportunity and allowing us to participate.

On Saturday June 22 Gidget Vickers of Orangeburg represented Agape Hospice at the Annual Health fair hosted at St. Paul's Baptist Church in Orangeburg. The event was a large success with 25 booths and tables set up, health screeenings on site, presentations from 10 panelists on health issues today followed by the Taste of St. Paul's! Gidget had the priviledge of presenting as a panelist on Dementia. As a gift to the church a copy of PARENT TALK was given to the Director of Senior Ministry, Mrs. Major,  for the church library.

Lexington county and Agape are commited to the seniors in our community. Lexington county partnered with Agape to Host a Health Expo to kick off the Lexington County Senior Games. The week will be filled with fun activities and athletic events for seniors. Each day will bring competition and fun to every senior in our county. We had a great turnout for the expo with about 300 seniors participatiing. Dawn Walters and myself worked our booth and shook hands with the participants, we prepared them for the week with AGAPE WATER and a big pat on the back for being engaged in such a fun activity! The games will conclude on Friday with an award ceremony!!

Definition:

Agape' is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.

This Greek word and variations of it are found throughout the New Testament. Agape' perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for his followers:

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. (John 14:21, NIV)

Agape' Senior and all of our sister entities practice this same love for our patients, clients, families and friends. If there are questions you need answers to or need assistance navigating the medical field please contact us at 800-411-2427